The Supreme Court on Tuesday restrained the Karnataka Police from taking any coercive action against badminton player Lakshya Sen, his family members, and his coach, U Vimal Kumar, in connection with allegations of forging birth certificates. The order came while the apex court was hearing a plea challenging the Karnataka High Court’s February 19 decision, which had dismissed petitions filed by Sen, his family, and his coach.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court earlier today had dismissed petitions filed by star badminton player Lakshya Sen, his family members and coach U Vimal Kumar in connection with allegations of fabricating birth certificates. The court ruled that there was prima facie evidence justifying an investigation into the alleged forgery.
The case stems from a private complaint lodged by MG Nagaraj, who accused Lakshya Sen’s parents, Dhirendra and Nirmala Sen, his brother Chirag Sen, coach Vimal Kumar and an employee of the Karnataka Badminton Association of manipulating birth records. According to the complaint, the accused allegedly falsified the birth certificates of Lakshya and Chirag Sen, reducing their ages by approximately two and a half years. The motive behind this alleged forgery was reportedly to enable the players to compete in age-restricted tournaments and avail government benefits.
Nagaraj supported his claims with documents obtained through the Right to Information (RTI) Act and sought the court’s assistance in summoning original records from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in New Delhi. Based on this evidence, the court directed the High Grounds police station to initiate an investigation.
Following the directive, an FIR was registered under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 420 (cheating), Section 468 (forgery), and Section 471 (using forged documents as genuine). However, the petitioners secured an interim order from the Karnataka High Court in 2022, which temporarily halted the investigation.
The petitioners argued that the allegations were baseless and driven by personal motives, claiming Nagaraj had a vendetta after his daughter was not selected for the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in 2020, where Vimal Kumar serves as a coach.
Justice MG Uma, while dismissing the petitions, noted that the petitioners’ counsel failed to present arguments despite being given ample opportunity. The judge also declined to grant any additional time.
“When prima facie materials are placed on record that constitute the offenses, I do not find any reason to stall the investigation or quash the criminal proceedings,” Justice Uma stated. The court emphasised that the evidence presented through RTI documents was sufficient to justify continuing the investigation.